Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of cultural practices on ratooning ability of hybrid rice at Agricultural Research Station, Sirsi of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka during kharif and rabi seasons of 1997- 98 and 1998-99. The results indicated that the grain and straw yields of ratoon crop were 2385 and 4644 kg ha-1, respectively (mean over two years) with 33 per cent higher population of main crop and was significantly higher than that obtained with normal population of main crop. Harvesting of main crop at physiological maturity resulted in higher grain yield (2427 kg ha-1) compared to harvest maturity (2180 kg h-1). Between cutting heights, 20 cm cutting height recorded significantly higher grain yield than 10 cm. Planking soon after harvest of main crop gave significantly higher grain yield when compared to no planking.

Keywords: Ratoon crop, Population, Cutting stage and Planking.